Our Stories, Our Voices ed. by Amy Reed (review)

In essays that range from the overtly political to the acutely personal, twenty-one YA authors including such well-known names as Brandy Colbert, Ellen Hopkins, and Hannah Moskowitz explore what it means to be female, both within a general patriarchal society and, more specifically, in the years following the 2016 U.S. presidential election. There's a clear effort at intersectionality, with a diverse set of women reflecting on elements beyond gender that informed their path to adulthood. The exploration of rape culture and its direct and incidental effects on young girls and women is a major theme, with many writers sharing their own encounters with toxic masculinity, some that are severely traumatic and others that have shaped the way they see themselves in more discreet but insidious ways. Race and its relation to femininity and identity is also explored, most powerfully in "Black Girl, Becoming" by new writer Tracy Deonn Walker. Although many of the essays end with a call to action, there's only one page of resources offered in the back to guide young readers to social justice activism; these therefore serve more as reflective pieces for readers interested in the topic or as discussion starters.